Local hero Andy Sullivan enjoyed a birdie-birdie finish to make it a six-way tie at the top heading into the final day at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.

Joost Luiten and Guido Migliozzi had set an early target of seven under on day three at The Belfry but it seemed unlikely they would be at the top at the end of the day when they were signing their cards.

On a frenetic day of scoring in the wind, however, that proved to be the case as Sullivan, fellow Englishmen James Morrison and Oliver Wilson and Dane Niklas Nørgaard all finished at the same score.

German Maximilian Kieffer was then at six under, a shot clear of Frenchman Romain Langasque and South African duo Bryce Easton and Justin Walters, with 39 players within five shots of the lead.

Luiten – who finished second last week at the BMW International Open – and Migliozzi both fired rounds of 68, with the other four leading contenders getting round in 70.

Home duo Sullivan and Wilson were in the penultimate group and with a large crowd gathered on the 18th, the former got the biggest cheer of the day when he holed a 40-footer down the slope to join the lead.

The four-time DP World Tour winner hails from Nuneaton, less than a 30-minute drive from this week’s host venue, and he was delighted to be in contention so close to home after registering just one top ten so far this season.

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” he said. “I can’t wait. I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably go have a little beer right now to calm down because literally, the nerves on the last when the putt was going down, I was thinking, this could be three-putt.

“It’s amazing. It’s been so nice to see so many friendly faces out there. I’m going to enjoy it.

“I didn’t get anything going all day, very steady, very solid, and then the last couple of holes were sweet to finish like that.”

He will face some stiff competition if he is to make it win number five, though, with Luiten looking for his seventh, Migliozzi his fourth and Morrison and Wilson both seeking a third victory.

By the time overnight leaders Justin Rose and Antoine Rozner teed off, they were in a seven-way tie for the lead and it would be a congested leaderboard for the rest of the day.

Wilson left himself five feet at the second and then got up and down from the sand at the par-five third before a 32-footer at the fifth handed him the solo lead at eight under.

Morrison joined him as he sandwiched smart approaches at the second and eighth with a long putt at the fifth but Wilson put his tee shot to eight feet at the seventh to hit the front on his own.

He briefly had company from Rozner, who turned in 33, but the Frenchman put two in the water at the tenth for a quadruple bogey as he dropped six shots in three holes.

The start of the back nine was proving tricky as both Wilson and Morrison went bogey-bogey on the tenth and 11th and, while Morrison hit back from 20 feet on the 13th, it was Nørgaard who reached the summit next.

Amid all the chaos, he had made 11 pars after holing from off the green at the second, but he then put his tee shot to five feet at the 14th and made a two-putt birdie at the par-five 15th to lead at eight under.

He put his tee shot at the 17th into the trees and had to play out sideways, making it a five-way tie once again, which Morrison broke out of with a two-putt birdie on the same hole before bogeying the last with a three-putt.

Sullivan had made a two-putt birdie at the third and hit a smart approach into the ninth before he too struggled after the turn, bogeying the 11th and 12th, before he set up his big finish by getting up and down at the par-five 17th.

Earlier, Dutchman Luiten had turned in 36 with a birdie and a bogey but then holed a long putt at the 15th, got up and down on the 15th and eagled the 17th with an incredible 70-footer.

Migliozzi, meanwhile, holed a 19-footer at the second and then put a remarkable second to eight feet at the next to set up an eagle.

A bogey came at the seventh but the Italian put his approach to six feet at the 13th and made a two-putt par on the 15th to sit a shot ahead of Kieffer, who also carded a 68.

Rose was then in a 12-man group at four under after a 74, a shot ahead of Rozner and seven others.

Matthew Baldwin secured a £50,000 donation to Prostate Cancer UK from Betfred as he made it 28 holes-in-one from 28 events this season, holing a five iron from 198 yards at the 14th.

The post Home hero Andy Sullivan among leading six at The Belfry appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A month after Dustin Johnson captured his second Saudi International title in three attempts, the European Tour season cranks back into life in Doha on Thursday.

The $1.5 million Commercial Bank Qatar Masters enjoys a rich history with Adam Scott (twice), Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen, Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia former winners of the Mother of Pearl trophy.

Quite who will join that elite company when Education City G.C. plays host to the event for the second time this week is anyone’s guess given a wide open field of seasoned European Tour winners, talented youngsters and journeymen just as hopeful of a breakthrough.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Thursday’s first round.

Wide Open

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Being scheduled opposite golf’s unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship, is a glass half full or half empty proposition depending on your viewpoint. While the world’s great and good are at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, there are 2000 Ryder Cup points and a precious European Tour exemption on the line for the lesser lights in Doha so expect a tight tussle.

Four-time European tour winner Andy Sullivan is the highest-ranked player at 61st in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and one of just eight players rated inside the top 100 so take your pick. The Englishman’s T-25 placing in Abu Dhabi is his best finish in four 2021 starts which includes a T-68 finish at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in the last week of February.

2020 Recap
Jorge Campillo’s epic playoff victory over David Drysdale sadly got lost in the confusion that reigned this time last year as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world. Indeed, the European Tour shut down for four months immediately after Campillo outlasted Drysdale at the fifth hole of overtime at Education City courtesy of three putts holed from more than 20 feet in the playoff.

The Spaniard is clearly looking forward to defending for the first time despite Qatar being his second European Tour win. In a crazy old year, Campillo was denied that opportunity when the Trophée Hassan II, which he won in 2019, was cancelled last year due to COVID-19.

“It’s different [being defending champion], I’ve never been in this position before because the other tournament I won [Trophée Hassan II] I couldn’t defend it. It’s new for me. I have had most of the attention this week, but I’m fine with it. It’s nice to be the defending champion.

“I’ve had a long time to think about the win. I was playing good and was ready to go to India to try and win another golf tournament, but that was stopped because of the pandemic. It was hard to come back after the break.

“The play-off stands out the most. It was such a great play-off. Besides all the putts I made, I hit some good shots too. David played great and I was glad I made those putts to keep up in the play-off.”

The defending champion is back with his trophy ?#QatarMasters pic.twitter.com/oyokjVefP7

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 10, 2021

COVID lingers
Sadly, the pandemic remains a pesky reality for the game a year on. The European Tour announced on Wednesday that Lorenzo Scalise had been forced to withdraw after a positive COVID test.

The Italian, who has not exhibited any symptoms, was tested on arrival at Hamad International Airport on Tuesday afternoon as part of the pre-tournament screening process.

Others to watch
This week’s field includes three former champions in Darren Fichardt, Justin Harding and Eddie Pepperell, along with 2016 Ryder Cup players Thomas Pieters and Sullivan.

Pepperell, the 2018 champion at Doha Golf Club who went on to capture the British Masters seven months later, was typically forthright when he cornered for some preview content, saying “I need to become a golf professional again”

Check it out:

“I need to become a golf professional again.”@PepperellEddie ahead of this week’s #QatarMasters. pic.twitter.com/7kgdeACY15

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 10, 2021

Desert Ascent

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Don’t be surprised if Rasmus Højgaard features strongly. The 19-year-old Dane, who won twice in his rookie season, is trending nicely this Desert Swing after rattling of T-25, T-9 and 6th places finishes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia respectively.

Højgaard did miss the cut at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession but thinks he’s figured out why.

“I struggled at the WGC at The Concession, I think I got caught up in thinking about the result there,” Højgaard said.

“It’s a big event, you want to play well. I was thinking more about that instead of producing good golf shots. That will be my focus this week. I want to win as much as possible, but it’s more important that I keep improving my game and that should produce good results and more wins, I hope.

“It feels good to be back in Qatar, it’s a good course and I enjoyed playing it last year.”

The post All you need to know about the Qatar Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship proved a tale of Andy Sullivan’s speedy start and Antoine Rozner’s fast finish.

Sullivan did his best to win the new $1.2 million event wire-to-wire at Jumeirah Golf Estates after a sizzling start on Fire with his Wednesday 61.

But the game of catch me if you can proved irresistible to Rozner even if the 27-year-old Parisian admitted after securing his maiden European Tour title with a closing 64 that he had no idea where he stood on the leaderboard until the 72nd hole.

“It means a lot,” said Rozner who became the 14th first time winner on the 2020 Race to Dubai in his 24th appearance in a stellar rookie year. “It’s been such a strange year, we have been through so much all over the world and to be able to get it done in such nice fashion, eight under, it’s amazing.

“I’m going to be very honest with you, the first time I saw I was in the lead was when I was on the 18th green so I didn’t really look at the leaderboards.”

Winning in style @Workday #GolfInDubai

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

You had to feel for Sullivan who did little wrong all week. The only danger was a low final round from one of the 11 players who started Saturday’s final round within five strokes, especially if the Englishman stalled.

There was no hint of that when Sullivan birdied the 1st for the fourth successive day, this time with a drive, baby wedge approach to within four feet. Indeed, he still led with six holes to play as anticipated challenges from Matt Wallace and Renato Paratore crashed and burned in a flurry of double bogeys.

Rozner came close to his European Tour breakthrough when he and Paratore were pipped in a playoff at the Mauritius Open last December by Rasmus Hijgaard. But few saw him seriously challenging on Fire even after his three birdies in an outward nine played in 33 strokes.

But the Frenchman ‘s name when up in lights when he completed a hat-trick of birdies with a brilliant shot on the 261-yard par-3 11th which rolled ever closer off the left-hand camber of the green.

That’s how you use the contours ?

Rozner moves within one of the leader.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/WwC9EN9dkX

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

His decisive move came on the 13th when a slightly pushed approach to the par-5 took a friendly hop off the fringe and set up an eagle putt he duly drained. There was a hiccup with a bogey in 15 but an immediate bounce-back birdie on 16 and a tap-in for another gain on 18 saw Rozner finish on -25.

We have a new leader ?

And what a way to do it @AntoineRozner.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/c0YgDyNCQ0

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

Mike Lorenzo-Vera, who played some magnificent shots in a closing 65, finished in a four-way share of second on -23 with Sullivan, Wallace and Italian Francesco Laporta.

“Catch me if you can.”

The moment that secured @AntoineRozner‘s maiden Tour victory ?#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/vHnN4ESdMv

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

“I knew the game was there. I didn’t know it was that good but I’m excited. I knew I was in the final [next week’s DP World Tour Championship] already, it’s just a good way to finish the season. The biggest tournament of the year.

“I didn’t play any Rolex Series events this year so to be able to play such a big tournament will be a big thing for me, so I’m excited.”

The Race to Dubai deciding DP World Tour Championship begins on the neighbouring Earth course at JGE on Thursday.

Goal = @AntoineRozner‘s win secured his place in the season-finale next week.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/aNk6FctZAP

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

Rasmus Højgaard
Lucas Herbert
Min Woo Lee
Sami Välimäki
Joël Stalter
Sam Horsfield
Collin Morikawa
Romain Langasque
John Catlin
Garrick Higgo
Callum Shinkwin
Robert MacIntyre
JB Hansen
Antoine Rozner

Rozner becomes the 14th first time winner this season.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/viNROmTEiH

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 5, 2020

The post Parisian Antoine Rozner powers to maiden European Tour title on Fire appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Andy Sullivan has shown a proclivity for winning going away on the European Tour, having waltzed to the 2015 Portugal Masters by nine strokes and the new English Championship by seven as recently as August.

Early in the third round of the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, it seemed the 34-year-old was intent on more of the same.

When Friday playing partner Matt Wallace stiffed it to tap in range on the 1st, Sullivan retorted with his own tight wedge-birdie of his own and seemed to be setting out where he left off in opening rounds of 61- 66.

By the turn he’d stretched his three stroke overnight lead to four over the third member of his all-England group, Ross Fisher. A big lead, perhaps even something unassailable heading into Saturday’s final round, was in the offing.

But this untraditionally scheduled moving day didn’t quite go to plan. Suddenly the free-flow of birdies became more of a holding pattern. A frustrating bogey on 10 was followed by a stretch of steady/unspectacular par golf.

Sullivan eventually signed for a 68 to get it to -21 for the championship. That was good enough for a two-stroke buffer over Wallace (67) with Fisher (68) and Italian Renato Paratorte (65)  a stroke further back on -18.

At least Sullivan will take a little momentum into the final round, if not a comfortable led with 11 players within five strokes on a course that could easily give up a low score to give one of the contenders setting out earlier a clubhouse target to make Sullivan sweat.

But if Sullivan and recapture the ball striking that marked his closing three holes, he he’ll be tough to haul in. A drive, two-putt birdie on the par-4 16th got him going again and was backed up with another gain on the tricky 17th when he rifled a 5-iron in tight in a near carbon copy of his second round shot of the day on the same hole Thursday. There was some final frustration when the master chipper was unable to get up and down for birdie from the front of the 18th but neither Fisher or Wallace were able to covert on the reachable par-5 either, limiting the damage.

“I’m happy with four under,” said Sullivan who will chase a fifth European Tour title on Saturday.

“I didn’t think I played brilliant golf. Started off really nicely front nine, played really solid. Ten through to 14 I didn’t swing it that great, didn’t give myself that many chances. Found some good swings coming in, which was really good, dug deep there and managed to get a few birdies coming home. Four under is a pretty fair reflection on how I played.

??????? -21 Sullivan
??????? -19 Wallace
?? -18 Paratore
??????? -18 R. Fisher
?? -17 Laporta
?? -17 Rozner

With one round to go at the #GolfInDubai.

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

“All in all, stayed patient and got my just desserts coming in with those two birdies. That’s what we were talking about before we got out there, it’s about being patient and I’m sure it will be the same tomorrow.

“There’s a lot of golf to be played, a lot of birdies to be made tomorrow. Just got to go out there and play golf. If I play as good as I did the first two days, I’ll be a confident man.”

THEY SAID IT…

Matt Wallace (ENG), 63-67-67 (-19)
“It was alright, didn’t swing it as good today. I felt a bit nervous, if I’m honest. Not at the start, but then a few tee shots didn’t feel as comfortable, didn’t strike it as well.

“Had to tell myself to let it go and struck it better coming in. Frustrating to miss that putt on the last. The grain really gets quite strong as the day goes on. On 17 it broke more, 18 broke a lot. I wouldn’t have given it outside the hole from that distance, and I would have had to.

“The birdie on the next hole (after bogey on nine) settled me down, but I knew I could hole that putt. I knew good drive, middle of the green to a back pin that was quite dangerous, I knew that I could hole that putt on a hard hole. Then I hit a great shot into 11. Staying patient, waiting for my run, a little bit. I hit a really bad shot on nine, which could have got to me – and would have probably got to me in the past – but I know that I’m swinging it well and I know I’m going to give myself loads of chances. Same tomorrow, I’m going to have loads of chances tomorrow.

“I’m not thinking about that (winning tomorrow), if I’m honest. I had a chance in Scotland and was in a better position in Scotland to win and I didn’t. I’m two behind a Ryder Cup player, someone who is playing really well. I’m going to have to go really low tomorrow. It’s not just him, someone could come from 15, 16 and shoot nine or ten under. You’ve seen out there, Robert Macintyre was seven-under through nine, so that can happen. Hopefully it can be me, but I’m just going to relax now and get ready for the fight tomorrow.”

Robert MacIntyre (SCO), 66-68-66 (-16)
“Happy with six under par, I’d have taken that before I went out but with the start I had I should have scored a lot better. That’s the way things happen and I have another day to fix it.

“It happened the other day. It’s nothing new. It’s part of the game and it happens all the time. You want it not to happen, but it’s part and parcel of the game. I enjoyed it as much as I could but to finish the way I did wasn’t so sweet.

“There’s still going to be pressure. If I’ve not go nerves on the first tee, I’m not in the right job. It’s going to be like a shootout again. It suits my game and I’m putting good, I just need to tidy it up a bit and see where it ends up.

“[Eagle on seven] 256 yards to the pin. Sitting alright in the rough. I hit a perfect five wood. It normally goes 250, slightly downwind I hit it perfect – right where I was aiming it – and it left me a nice putt.”

Par save of the day…

That’d be @RossFisher.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/TeqVpZwdCj

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

The post Andy Sullivan, with a lead of two, insists Saturday’s final round is all ‘about being patient’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Just in case you were in any doubt about the quality of the Englishman’s flushed approach into his penultimate hole on Thursday, there was an exclamation mark from the European Tour broadcast booth.  “What a shot!” the commentator cried.

Quite. Check it out:

Leads by three @andysulligolf ?‍#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/nwR1rHifcF

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

The post-shot shrug, that was trademark Sully too. The tap-in birdie than ensued helped him to -17 and a three-shot lead heading into moving day on Friday. But was it the shot of the second round? You be the judge.

How about Martin Kaymer’s classy pitch off a cart path?

Martin Kaymer from the cart path ?#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/HgP9oMmtRe

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

Or the shot Eddie Pepperell produced after whatever he was doing on the previous green.

Whatever @PepperellEddie was thinking about, it worked.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/pmT9LDeHKs

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

We love it when Pepperell has a quiet word with himself. Nearly as much as the Englishman’s social media musings which peaked after Sullivan’s opening round 61.

Don’t be like that Ed I missed a few coming in. ??????

— Andy Sullivan (@andysulligolf) December 2, 2020

Talking of shot-making, how about Ross Fisher going 36 blemish-free holes to get it to -14 after backing up his opening 63 with a 67.

“I made five [birdies] today, there were probably at least a handful that slipped by. It would have been nice to get one on nine [his final hole]there, but I’m not going to stand here and complain that I’ve missed a few putts. I’m 14 under, haven’t made a bogey, so life’s pretty good,” Fisher said.

“It’s very satisfactory to make as many birdies as I have, but to not make a bogey in 36 holes, I’m delighted with. I think – I’ll have to check it – but if my stats are correct, I haven’t missed a green either. For 36 holes, to hit every single green. I missed the par five, but it was just off the edge. Very satisfying. “

Also on -14 is Matt Wallace (63-67) who is learning the importance of patience on a course giving up so many birdie looks.

“There is that added pressure but I just kept saying to myself, I shot nine-under yesterday, I’m playing some good stuff. I’m allowed to put in bad swings and to hit bad shots but what I’m not allowed to do is get down on myself – just crack on and move in,” Wallace said.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“This week in particular, it’s just wide off the tee in areas. I’ve managed to lose a ball or take a penalty drop off two drives this week so it’s obviously not wide enough for me. It’s wide in areas and you can get away with having a putt for birdie so it does come down to the putts.

“Very much looking forward to the group tomorrow, I spent a bit of time with Andy and Ross, just talking to them. I’ve got Sean on the bag who used to caddie for Sully so they’ll know each other well. I’m looking forward to it.”

The post Kaymer’s cart path escape, Pepperell’s zen moment and other epic shots from JGE appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates has masqueraded as an aviary during the first half of the new Golf in Dubai Championship.

Birdies and better have abounded in the opening two rounds with leader Andy Sullivan getting to within a whisker of matching the European Tour’s 36-hole (to par) scoring record, -18 set by Ernie Els at the 2004 Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne.

With no significant course or climatic changes forecast for Friday at least, there can be no backing off on moving day but it’s patience, rather than panic, that was the over-riding theme from Sullivan after the second round.   

“We spoke about it to my psychologist before I went out, it’s basically just about staying patient and give yourself as many chances as possible,” Sullivan said after backing up his course record 61 with a 66 on Thursday to get it to -17 and establish a three-stroke lead over English compatriots Ross Fisher and Matt Wallace.

“It is hard, I really had to work hard at staying patient, when I was three-under through nine it didn’t feel as good as yesterday. But you know you’re still on the right track. I knew I was swinging it well and if I could keep giving myself opportunities I could make a few coming in. If you’d told me I’d shoot 61-66 I’d have snapped your hand off.”

Sullivan apologised for the cliché in preface to a comment about sticking to his processes as he debriefed his round. His only blemish in the second round was a three-putt bogey on the 3rd when he rushed a long birdie putt by but there were five birdies and eagle three on 7 to more than make on that rush of blood.

A brilliant birdie on the 17th – check out the sound of the iron strike in the Tweet below – gave the 34-year-old a shot at Els’ record but a testy birdie putt burnt the left edge.

Leads by three @andysulligolf ?‍#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/nwR1rHifcF

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

“I feel like I’ve got the golf ball under some sort of control at the moment,” Sullivan said.

“I know what shapes I can hit and how much I can move it. It just feels really comfortable out there off the tee and into the greens, it feels like there aren’t many pins I can’t get at, which is a nice feeling to have. It didn’t happen too often in the season, so it’s nice to have that.”

Sullivan, Wallace and Fisher are last off the 1st tee at 10.05 am (GST) on Friday.

The post Patience a virtue as Andy Sullivan extends Dubai lead to three appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
As Andy Sullivan was putting the lights out on Fire Wednesday, briefly placing the golf world on an official 59 watch in the process, news of the UK becoming the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine was breaking.

They were moments a world apart in importance but brilliant all the same, and loosely connected too.

For while most of the rest of the world has collectively cursed the impacts of COVID, Sullivan used the lockdown to recalibrate a career seemingly stalled after a breakthrough three win 2015.

The 34-year-old Englishman won for the first time in five seasons at the English Championship in August, a new tournament in a six-event UK Swing born out of the pandemic.

A second win of 2020 is now a distinct possibility after Sullivan signed for blemish-free 61, the new Fire course record, to earn an early two-stroke lead at the Golf in Dubai Championship. It was some way to mark the UAE’s 49th National Day at another new, hastily arranged event in this Race to Dubai season like no other.

“COVID really changed everything for me,” said Sullivan after his lowest European Tour round to par, 11 under, eclipsed the 10-under 61 he scored at last year’s Portugal Masters.

Sullivan’s lowest European Tour round to par @Workday #GolfInDubai

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 2, 2020

“I had time to sit down and reflect on how I was being on the golf course. I [don’t] like to say, but I was being an idiot. It’s not nice to say that about yourself. I could think about what I wanted from the game and where I wanted to go with it. I refocused and started enjoying it again. I’ve started to play a lot better.

“Going out there and enjoying it, I know I’m giving myself the best chance to shoot a low score. Coming back to Jumeirah, I’ve always played pretty tidy here on the other course. It’s nice to get off to a flier on this one.”

Indeed. Starting on the 10th, Sullivan was six-under at the turn and capped a run of six successive birdies when the hole got in the way of a putt from another postcode on Fire’s tricky par 3 2nd. Check it out here:

Highlights of Sullivan’s back nine ?#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/LQ4QEYYpQa

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 2, 2020

Sullivan needed birdies on his last two holes to join Olivier Fisher as the second player in European Tour history in the 59 club after the Englishman achieved the feat at the 2018 Portugal Masters. It wasn’t to be although it was agonisingly close; Sullivan burned the cup with a birdie putt on the par 3 8th and hit a dart into the 9th hole, only to miss his putt for 60 on the low side.

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

“It’s funny, I played the front nine yesterday and I played the back nine a year ago when we came over to warm up, you do all this prep on these courses and try and work out where to hit it. This week I turned up and clattered it around and found myself being ridiculous under par through seven or eight holes on my front nine. You think ‘here we go’.

“I changed my putting routine with Mike yesterday and it’s helped me trust my instincts more instead of second-guessing myself which really helped. The putter was extremely hot today.”

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

One round, even one this low, doesn’t make a tournament but Sullivan has pedigree at JGE after pushing eventual champion Rory McIlroy all the way at the 2015 DP World Tour Championship on neighbouring Earth before finishing a shot adrift of the Northern Irishman.

He lead by two strokes from countrymen Matt Wallace and Ross Fisher and Frenchman Antoine Rozner who opened with 63s. Scots Marc Warren and Craig Howie, along with Swede Oscar Lengden were tied for 5th after 64s.

A pair of 63s for Rozner and Wallace

That’s Antione’s lowest career round on the European Tour, while Matt ties the 63 he shot at the 2017 Open de Portugal.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/SjH90Iehxz

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 2, 2020

The post COVID helped cure Andy Sullivan’s golf funk and he chose a fitting day to prove it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

1. Lee Westwood In Abu Dhabi

Ahhh, January. Remember how easy life was way back then. Lee Westwood made golf look simple too, most of the time anyway, en-route to a 25th European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to become just the third player to win on tour in four decades after Mark McNulty and Des Smyth. Lucas Herbert’s playoff win in Dubai was dramatic, Graeme McDowell’s Saudi triumph rather romantic. But Westwood’s lesson in longevity won Abu Dhabi the Desert Swing. We wonder now what Westy’s defence will look like.

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2. Great To Be Back

Four months after the season was suspended in Qatar, the European Tour returned to action at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg near Vienna. It has been a fraught wait and the Austrian Open rather fitting crowned Marc Warren champion. It was a fourth European Tour title after the sweet-swinging Scot’s own long wait – six years – since his previous win.

It was low key but absolutely brilliant to be back.

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3. The UK Swing

The European Tour went back to its roots with a hastily-arranged, six-event UK Swing that was an unexpected bonus for lovers of “traditional” golf. The geographically-clustered swing was, as CEO Keith Pelley sign-posted at the time, a “glimpse into the future” and we are down with that. If we had one wish for the future it would be the promotion of courses like Sunningdale in the magical Surrey/Berkshire sand-belt. Wishful thinking maybe but hey, who would have thought a few months ago that a face mask would be an essential piece of golfing kit? If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how we suddenly treasure the pleasures of great things from our past.

Sam Horsefield galloped away with a pair of UK Swing wins but for us it was Rasmus Højgaard’s triumph at the ISPS Handa UK Championship (pictured) that got us all emotional. More specifically it was the return to the Brabazon course at the Belfry that had us romanticising glories of Ryder Cups past. Sure, time and technology has moved on but here was proof why we shouldn’t totally dismiss tradition.

We’ve had a soft spot for Andy Sullivan ever since the genial Englishman won a space flight as a hole-in-one prize at the 2014 KLM Open and promptly turned it down.  “I’m thinking, if anything happens to the pilot, I’m in charge and that’s not a position I want to be in. So I’ve put the mother-in-law up for that one,” Sullivan joked in a Golf Channel interview two years later. We loved Sully’s seven-stroke win at Hanbury Manor and didn’t his post-victory video link-up with the family after the English Championship epitomise how even celebrating has changed in the era of COVID. The laughter, and tears, flowed after a near-five year wait for his fourth European Tour title. “It was just the people that have missed this win, my brother-in-law was only 24 and he was taken from us. so it’s quite emotional for him not to witness it. It means quite a lot for me to do it for him today, and a good friend of mine has passed as well. It’s nice for my family, to win for my little boy who is only two years old, it’s just nice for him to see Daddy being successful.” How cool is golf.

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Englishman Garrick Porteous hits from the hay on the 16th hole during the final round of the Scottish Championship presented by AXA at Fairmont St Andrews

4. The Home Of Golf

With the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship canned, it was a bonus to return to St. Andrews for some links luvviness at the  new Scottish Championship presented by AXA – especially as we’d been robbed of the season’s ultimate (links) highlight, the 149th Open at Royal St. George’s. It was doubly sweet that Adrian Otaegui, with his Dubai-links, won on the Fairmont course. With that said, here’s a memo to Keith Pelley rescheduling, along the line of our earlier Sunningdale plea: How about events at gems old and new like Royal Dornock, Cruden Bay, Nairn, Western Giles, Machrihanish and North Berwick? If you really want to appeal to the purist, head back to Prestwick. We know, we know, the original home of the Open would be embarrassed by today’s big-boofers. But would it really if the weather gods were alerted? Hey, it’s been a tough year. Let us dream on.

Adrian Otaegui (Spain) tees off on the 14th hole en-route to victory

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5. Golf In Dubai Championship

We’ve loved some of the new destinations added to the reimagined Race to Dubai schedule, the double-header at Aphrodite Hills with those breath-taking Cyprus vistas a fresh case-in-point. But for those of us who regularly golf the UAE, the exposé of Greg Norman’s Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates will be a special treat. More than a few believe it is a stronger design than Earth. Whatever your opinion, the 11-days at JGE culminating in the DP World Tour Championship are sure to provide a dramatic ending to this unthinkable year, a European Tour season that hasn’t turned out so bad after all.

The post Five reasons why the COVID-complicated European Tour season wasn’t so bad after all appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The USGA announced Monday that 10 players have earned exemptions into the 2020 U.S. Open through their performance in the European Tour’s U.K Swing.

The USGA’s flagship event, which will be comprised solely of exempt players due to the cancellation of local and sectional qualifying in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, invited the top 10 aggregate point earners from the Euro Tour’s five restart events who weren’t already in the Winged Foot field. The 10 are Sam Horsfield, Thomas Detry, Andy Sullivan, Rasmus Hojgaard, Renato Paratore, Romain Langasque (who won the Wales Open on Sunday), Sami Valimaki, Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui, Connor Syme and Justin Harding.

Horsfield, 24, has won twice in August, capturing a breakthrough victory at the Hero Open and returning to the winner’s circle two weeks later at the Celtic Classic. Detry, 27, finished runner-up to Horsfield at both events. This marks Horsfield’s fourth appearance in the U.S. Open with Detry—a former Big Ten Player of the Year at Illinois—making his major championship debut.

Sullivan, 33, a former member of the European Ryder Cup team, is making his first U.S. Open start since 2016 at Oakmont. Harding, 34, was in the mix through 36 holes at the 2019 Masters and will be making his second consecutive U.S. Open start.

Other U.S. Open exemptions still to be handed out will be the top-five point earners from the three-event 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Series as well as the top five in the final FedEx Cup standings who are otherwise not exempt.

The 120th U.S. Open begins on Sept. 17 at Winged Foot Golf Club West Course in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Gary Woodland is the defending champ.

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By John Huggan
It had been a while for Andy Sullivan. So it was perhaps not too surprising that it was, at least for a time, a bit of a struggle, too. But four years and 297 days on from his third European Tour victory, the 33-year-old Englishman finally has a fourth.

Armed with an overnight five-shot lead that once shrunk to as little as two during the final round, Sullivan’s Sunday 65 was eventually good enough to win the English Championship. By the close of play, runner-up Adrian Otaegui was seven shots back, one ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard in third. The Danish teenager’s hot run—second at the British Masters T-6 finish in the Hero Open—continued into a third week. A closing 64 means Hojgaard is now 47-under-par for his last 12 competitive rounds.

Impressive, but Sullivan was the undoubted star of this particular show. His 27-under 257 score for his four days on the 7,042-yard Hanbury Manor course north of London earned the former Ryder Cup player €156,825 from the total purse of €1 million. It didn’t come easy though. Not at first.

On multiple occasions on the front-nine Sullivan made vital putts to save par, although the 12-footer he holed for birdie on the par-5 12th, the first of what would be four in seven holes, was surely the most telling. After making 15 birdies and two eagles en route to shooting 62-64 on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s early stages proved to be a lot harder on the nerves of the former supermarket shelf-stacker. Otaegui’s six birdies over his first 12 holes weren’t helping on that front either.

“This is really emotional,” said Sullivan, whose recent T-4 finish at the British Masters hinted at this welcome return to form. “For a while there that wasn’t as easy as it turned out. I wasn’t hitting enough fairways on the front nine, which made it hard for me to get close to the pins. I ground it out really well though. I knew that putt on 12 was important. I loosened up from that point onwards and hit some really good shots. I was fighting back tears over the last few holes.

As the lead began to increase on the back nine, Sullivan understandably felt the pressure lifting. “It’s just nice to be back in the winner’s circle after so long,” he said. “It has been frustrating that my game didn’t kick on from 2015. But my team and I have worked so hard. I’m proud of myself.”

Indeed, the last few seasons have been ones of almost constant disappointment for Sullivan, once viewed as one of Europe’s most promising rising stars. Three victories in 2015 saw the Nuneaton-native make his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National a year later. Not only that, in the run-up to the matches he was earmarked as a foursomes and four-ball partner for the star of the European team, Rory McIlroy.

That partnership didn’t last too long though. In the opening session of foursomes matches, with the match all-square, Sullivan found water with his tee-shot at the short 17th. It was to prove crucial as he and McIlroy lost on the final green to Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Worse, Sullivan, a Walker Cup player in 2011, was not seen again until the final day singles, when he lost to Brandt Snedeker.

Scarred by the overall experience, Sullivan almost immediately went into what turned out to be a slow and steady decline. To his credit, the marked deterioration in his fortunes never seemed to affect his upbeat persona, never more so than when her became the first man to make an ace in the European Tour’s 500-ball “Hole-in-One Challenge.” With his 230th attempt, Sullivan’s 7-iron from 171 yards found the bottom of the cup, a feat that provoked an amusing and highly vocal sprint from tee to green.

Elsewhere, however, laughs were harder to come by. Ranked as high as 28 in the world in February 2016, Sullivan finished that year as 44th. Twelve months later he was 129th. And by the end of last year he was 137th, 11 places higher than his position when he arrived at Hanbury Manor.

Still, he left the picturesque parkland course feeling a lot better about life and golf. Sully’s smile is back.

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